Three Police Officers on Trial in Paris Over the 2020 Assault on Music Producer Michel Zecler

Updated November 9, 2026. The trial is ongoing, and the three officers are presumed innocent until a court rules otherwise.

Three police officers went on trial in Paris on Monday, November 9, 2026, over the November 2020 assault on music producer Michel Zecler, which a surveillance camera recorded. They face up to 15 years in prison if convicted. The trial is scheduled to last about two weeks, AFP reported.

The Charges

The three officers are being tried by the Paris criminal court, the cour criminelle départementale, on two counts. The first is intentional violence resulting in more than 45 days of incapacity to work, committed by people holding public authority, in a group and with a weapon. The second is forgery in a public document, according to AFP.

The investigating judges’ referral order, which AFP has seen, describes an “avalanche of blows” lasting four minutes that was not necessary and formed part of an illegitimate action. The officers’ arrest report said Zecler had struck them and tried to seize a baton. After being shown the footage, the three acknowledged during the investigation that he had not hit them, but said they had feared for their lives, AFP reported.

The 2020 Incident

On November 21, 2020, police stopped Zecler, then 41, outside his home for not wearing a mask and on suspicion of cannabis use, AFP reported. The incident then continued in his recording studio in Paris’s 17th arrondissement, where a surveillance camera filmed it. The footage, published by the website Loopsider, spread widely.

Zecler was held in custody for 48 hours. Prosecutors dropped the case against him and opened an investigation into the officers. President Emmanuel Macron said the images were unacceptable and shameful.

The Racism Question

Zecler says one officer called him a racial slur and that another made racist remarks. The officers deny it. The investigating judges set aside racist motive as an aggravating circumstance. They said their decision does not claim Zecler’s statements are insincere, only that the evidence did not meet the standard required in criminal law. Prosecutors had asked for it to be retained, and Zecler’s lawyer regretted the decision.

In November 2025, France’s rights ombudsman, Claire Hédon, called for the officers to face a disciplinary board over what she described as serious breaches of professional ethics, including racist remarks, AFP reported. The officers’ lawyers did not comment to AFP when it asked about the trial in February.

A Fourth Officer

A fourth officer, accused of throwing a tear gas grenade at Zecler and several young men, will be tried separately by the Paris correctional court.

Read also: Carlos Alcaraz wins the Rolex Paris Masters for the first time, Balenciaga names Martine Rose as new creative director, and inside the Matières Fécales show at Place de la République.

Source: RCI/AFP (November 8, 2026, February 10, 2026); NPR (November 27, 2020, November 30, 2020); PBS/AP, 2020.

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